Federal

Water

The Essex Fells Water Department started in 1893, when the developers of Essex Fells were committed to having an adequate supply
of good water for its residents. In August of 1920, the Borough of Essex Fells purchased the water system from the developer,
which consisted back then of 6 wells, and a 1.75 million gallon open reservoir.

Today, The Essex Fells Water Department has 16
wells, with 3 water storage tanks, totaling 2.8 million gallons, various interconnections, booster pumping stations, and
transmission and distribution facilities a treatment facility and a main pumping station. We supply drinking water not only the
customers of Essex Fells, but supply the towns of Roseland, Caldwell, North Caldwell, and the Hilltop portion of Verona with
drinking water.

The Water Department is a 7 day a week operation with three full time employees sharing rotating shifts to maintain and operate
its facilities. We are tasked with various duties that include:

Maintaining and repairs of well pumps

Maintaining and repairs of water storage facilities

Maintaining and repairs to water mains

Maintaining and repairs to fire hydrants

Maintaining and repair of residential water meters

Reading of residential water meters for billing

Water sampling in accordance with NJDEP standards

The Water Department every year undergoes various Capital Projects to upgrade and improve the Water system, from replacing
residential meters, to replacing water mains, and wells

Water billing and meters:

Water bills are sent on a quarterly basis, in the months of April, July, October, and January. As with taxes, it is the
responsibility of residents to make sure their bills are current. All water meters in town have been replaced with a newer
radio reading device, which is not only more accurate, but cuts down in reading error that occurred from manual reading of a meter.

From time to time water meters and the remote reading devices fail. It is the responsibility of the resident to make an appointment when he or she notices there water bill is at $1000.00. This is a set amount that is billed to make the customer aware that there is an issue with their meter. The Water Department owns all water meters and equipment which it needs access to, and will at no charge replace the defective equipment at no cost to the customer.

Various water charges:

The Water Department is governed by the Borough Council, who sets the following rates for service:

The rate for water consumption shall be $5.50 for each thousand gallon of water consumed. This rate went into effect beginning of the first quarter of 2018